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Author: Catherine Sullivan Seraphin

Boston-area neighborhoods that Harvard Chan students call Home

A photo of blog author, Mitchell BeersMitchell Beers
MPH ’23 Health Policy
He/him/his

One of the biggest questions I had when starting this program was where to live. I have lived in and around Boston for the last eight years and still found the decision daunting. Luckily, Boston is a great city with a lot to offer, so you will likely be happy anywhere. This post will give you an idea of some of the most common areas where Harvard Chan students live and the benefits of those areas. (Though this list is not exhaustive and many students live outside these neighborhoods, too.)

For your reference, Harvard Chan School is located in the Longwood Medical Area (LMA). There is limited housing in the LMA, as it is where many of Boston’s medical centers are located, but the neighborhoods below are convenient for Harvard Chan students.

You can find a helpful and interactive map of Boston neighborhoods here.

An aerial photo of the School with the Mission Hill neighborhood

Mission Hill

Mission Hill is the closest neighborhood to Harvard Chan School and is only a 5–10-minute walk to campus. It is likely the most affordable area to live on this list, and probably houses the highest total number of Harvard Chan students. There are also a lot of other students from surrounding universities that live in this area. Mission Hill provides convenient access to downtown Boston via the Green Line of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (the MBTA, or colloquially referred to as “the T”). If you choose to cross-register at other Harvard graduate schools in Cambridge, there is a free shuttle service for Harvard students that will transport you, or you can take the MBTA bus. A favorite spot of mine in this area for food or drinks after class is the Squealing Pig.

Brookline

Brookline is a city that is almost completely surrounded by Boston. The parts of Brookline that are closest to the Longwood Medical Area are where students commonly live. This area is more residential and boasts a family/community feel. Depending on where you live in Brookline, you could walk to school or take the same bus that provides access to Harvard Square. This area is farthest from downtown Boston but it is still accessible via the T. A great place here for dinner and drinks is the Blossom Bar.

A photo of the Fenway neighborhood in BostonFenway/Kenmore

Fenway is famous for the Boston Red Sox ballpark, Fenway Park. Most apartments in this area would be a 10–20-minute walk to campus. This is also where the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Shattuck International House is located. People living here are generally young and there are a lot of bars and restaurants. It also has Boston’s biggest Target, which is a nice perk. There is both a shuttle and a bus nearby to take you to the Harvard campus in Cambridge, which is helpful if you plan to cross-register at schools there. One of my favorite spots here is Time Out Market.

Harvard Square/Central Square

Harvard Square and Central Square are both areas in Cambridge, which is just north of Boston on the other side of the Charles River. It is where the undergraduate campus and many of Harvard’s other graduate schools are located. It is a fun area with a lot of young people and has a very academic vibe. Commuting to Harvard Chan School’s campus from here takes a bit longer, but there is a shuttle service or the bus. One of my favorite spots here is Daedalus Restaurant.

A photo of the Back Bay/South End neighborhood in BostonBack Bay/South End

Back Bay and the South End are two neighborhoods near downtown Boston. Because of this, rent here can be a bit pricier, but if you are looking to be close to great shopping and dining, this is the place to be. The MBTA Green Line and bus make living in these neighborhoods a quick commute to the Harvard Chan School. The shuttle and another bus also make commuting from these neighborhoods to the Harvard Cambridge campus very easy. My favorite pastry shop, Café Madeleine, is in the South End and the Earls Prudential rooftop has a great view of Back Bay.

No matter where you end up living, you should visit all of these neighborhoods to explore everything the Boston area has to offer!

Finding the egg yolk: Why I chose public health

Photo of MyMai YuanMyMai Yuan
MPH ’23 Health Management
She/her/hers

A metaphor spoke to me during a time in my life when I was thinking deeply about my purpose: To find our “dream job,” we must find the egg yolk. That is, we should base our search not on job descriptions out there, but by considering the parts of our own experience we cherished. In this way, we find the core values that drive our explorations.

Born and raised in Thailand, I attended an international English-speaking high school. My trilingual background, the cultural diversity of my social bubble, and the striking economic disparities of my country drew me to people’s stories. At school, I started a spoken poetry movement on the healing nature of community storytelling.

I came to the U.S. for the first time in my life to pursue my undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where I majored in both cognitive neuroscience and creative writing. Both fields enabled deeper exploration into the humanity of health. While cognitive neuroscience delves into the tissue of memory, creative writing dissects the power of our inherent mortality through the language of grief and love. The privilege of an empowering education affirmed my dream of building more equitable care in Thailand and other low-to-middle-income countries.

In preparation for my hopes of working in resource-constrained settings, I spent two years at a New York-based health care management consulting firm where I worked on projects looking at chronic illnesses and health care innovation. As I gained financial skills and language in the private sector, I realized the core importance of public health.

A photo of a fried egg

With this knowledge, I moved back home to Thailand and joined an international public health non-governmental organization (NGO). There, I co-led a global health project to reduce non-communicable diseases and support Thailand’s COVID-19 response. This role and the compassion of my colleagues shaped me profoundly. While witnessing the inequities of COVID-19 across populations, I dove into global health’s history and the political economy that has shaped it. There, I created a protocol exploring ways for project members to share the historical context of the countries in which we worked, prioritizing language and cultural inclusivity. I recognized that such a protocol treats only the symptoms of a deep-rooted issue.

That year, I made the difficult (and very lucky) decision to defer medical school and, instead, pursue public health at Harvard Chan. I was drawn to the global impact and socio-economic-political lens of public health, which I felt was crucially lacking in the world’s COVID-19 response. I was particularly drawn to Dr. Jesse Bump’s work in the history of global political economies and decolonizing global health, and a previously hosted student-led conference, “Decolonizing Global Health.”

Today, I work as a research assistant and teaching fellow with Dr. Bump; an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) fellow; and co-founder of the student organization “Harvard Chan Students for Decolonizing Global Health.” My research interests also include global health economics, financing, and payment systems. I am so grateful for the conversations I’ve been able to have with my peers here, and how much I’ve learned from them.

My passion for the humanity of health continues as a Harvard Chan student. Though my path has had many curves, my time here has helped me continue to define the “yolk” that connects everything I have explored. The students, mentors, and professors at Harvard have deepened my understanding of global health equity, and I am thankful to share with them an affinity to build a more just world.

Read more about MyMai.